


Lavender & Cream

by Broken_Clover



Series: Unorthodox Love-Letters [4]
Category: Guilty Gear
Genre: M/M, Mostly Fluff, Night Terrors, Sharing a Bed, Sin is a Cinnamon Roll, Some angst, What did we do to deserve him
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-20
Updated: 2018-06-20
Packaged: 2019-05-26 04:55:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,321
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14993261
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Broken_Clover/pseuds/Broken_Clover
Summary: Sin believes that everyone deserves a second chance. Bedman disagrees. Fortunately, Sin has a stubborn streak and isn't one to give up.Or: How two idiots accidentally ended up being idiots together.





	Lavender & Cream

**Author's Note:**

> I'll be completely honest and say that this pairing started off as a joke, seeing as how both characters technically share a VA (Yuri Lowenthal voices Bedman in the dub while he voiced Sin in Overture but was recast in Xrd).
> 
> Long story short this accidentally became my OTP for the fandom. I know it's kinda bizarre, seeing as how they don't interact much canonically, but I really think that they would have a good character dynamic and work well together. If Bedman did survive and get adopted ala Ram and El, I feel like Sin would be the one to open up to him while he was being all angsty and nobody wanted to deal with him.
> 
> That and I just love pairings consisting of a prickly smartass who really just needs a hug and a big dopey sweetie. It's just a weakness of mine.

Considering that he was so used to sharing close quarters with Sol, it didn’t take long for Sin to get used to sharing his bed. Taverns and inns didn’t tend to have the nicest of accommodations, and the old man did tend to be as cheap as they came. So more often than not, the two men were prone to sharing a single beaten mattress in the corner of some leaky-roofed building until the next day of traveling.

Granted, that didn’t mean that his current situation was really quite the same. He was used to having the much-larger man nearby, either to leech heat from on cold nights or in general just to huddle up against in the small space. Now, he was the one being cuddled against, in a bed that was far larger and comfier than he was used to. Not that Sin was complaining, per se, but it was a bit odd to be the bigger one in general, as well as the fact that he was bedmates with what had to be the world’s cuddliest, sleepiest asshole.

On that note…

“Hey. Hey. You awake?” He snapped his fingers right in front of a pair of faded-over eyes that stared at the back wall.

“Uh- huh?” The sudden noise and movement was enough to bring Bedman to attention- though in the process, he also dropped the book in his lap. “Oh, that was-”

“I got it.” Sin leaned down to pick the book up, handing it back over. As he did, he caught a quick glimpse of the cover. Spatial theory, something about how magic correlated to relative space between objects on a molecular level. Not like that meant anything, it was all gibberish to him. He wasn’t the bookish type, and never had been.

“Ah! Thank you, Sin.”

Well, if he could say that he got any purpose out of books, it was all the little expressions that they managed to elicit from the other boy. Hell, it was the main reason Sin had been willing to sit in the library with him for what felt like the millionth time. He didn’t do any reading. He just sat in one of the stiff chairs, watching and listening to Bedman as he went on and on about whatever new theory of the week that he was nose-deep into. 

Framed by the light of the fireplace, paired with his naturally enhanced senses, Sin took careful note of all the little motions and gestures. The way his fingers spread and hands gestured as he spoke, almost theatrically. The gentle lilts that marked the boy’s usual monotone whenever he was excited. The soft, shifting creases of his face that moved when he spoke, when he smiled. All the while, an excited glimmer twinkling in the depths of his dark eyes, the firelight glinting just perfectly on the edge of his lenses to make it look deliberate

For a former villain, he decided, especially one with plans of world domination, he did not deserve to be _that_ adorable.

“Preoccupied, Sin?” The familiar voice pulled him from his thoughts, and he found himself staring into an amused smile. “And you thought _I_ was tired?”

Taking a cue from Sol, he leaned over and gave the boy a flick on the nose. “Punk.”

“Eh?” Sin tried and failed to ignore the rather cute way that his nose wrinkled as he pulled away. “Oh, why do I try? You’re such a stubborn thing.”

Sin gestured to the library around him. “Says the one who’s been pulling late-night reading sessions in the library. Again.”

An embarrassed crimson tinge flooded pale skin, and Sin couldn’t resist a stifled laugh.

“S-shut up.”

“Yep. That’s it.” Sin got to his feet, stretching out his joints. “You’re exhausted, I can tell. Usually that gets at least a two-minute rant back.” It was just a bit of ribbing, something that they were both prone to doing. He never meant much harm by it, but oftentimes it did serve as enough of a little prod to break through Bedman’s occasionally-thick skull. For some kind of genius, he was terrible at taking hints.

The boy let out a resigned sigh. “Alright. I suppose you have a point. It is getting difficult to focus, and I won’t be accomplishing much in a state like that.”

“Huh, so you _do_ have common sense!”

Bedman sent him a look. “Just this morning the Flame of Corruption told you that crabapples actually tasted like crab, and you believed him.”

“Pfft. Did not.”

“You ate fifteen of them, claimed they were rotten, and asked me which ones were the fresh ones.”

Sin went quiet, turning a little pink himself as he looked away. “They tasted ok to me…”

“You have to stop and think more. You’re gonna wind up hurting yourself if you just believe everything you’re told.” A brief hint of dismay flickered through the boy’s eyes, but Sin didn’t even need to ask.

“You don’t have to keep feeling so guilty, man.” Sin reached out to place a hand on his shoulder. “Everyone knows that it was just a mistake. People make mistakes all the time!”

Dark eyes hardened. “Those mistakes don’t almost kill millions of people.”

“Don’t be like that! Everyone’s already forgiven you-”

“They _haven’t_ , Sin.” The unusually harsh growl made him flinch. “They tolerate me, and nothing more.”

Sin wanted to say something to calm him down, to reassure him that it wasn’t really as bad as he thought. Noticing his dull expression, though, he remembered how late it was, and merely hoped that the tiredness was making him crabby.

“You’re pretty worn out, huh?”

Placing the book he was holding back on one of the many stacks that littered the library floor, Bedman mimicked Sin, standing up and cracking joints. Suddenly becoming aware of how tired he actually was, he slumped over slightly and looked up at his companion. “Maybe I am staying up too late again.”

The half-Gear reached over to pat him on the back. “Come on, let’s go to bed. You sound like you need the sleep.”

The twisting hall paths between Sin’s room and the library gave the blonde plenty of time to let his mind wander. After a bit of wondering about the swordfighting advice Ky had given him during their daily lesson and whether or not there was going to be steak for breakfast, his thoughts wandered to the boy walking next to him, currently latched onto his arm for support.

Sin hadn’t really expected things to turn out the way that the had. For one, he’d barely met the guy before Ky told him that he was going to be staying for a while. Sin didn’t know the first thing about him, aside from the fact that he had tried to kill both Ky and Sol on separate occasions- a fact which did not leave a positive first impression.

Upon actually seeing him, though, it was almost kind of funny. Sure, Ky had spoken about the large machine that Bedman had been using before, but just the thought of someone like the tiny kid standing in front of him being some sort of dangerous criminal made him laugh. Sin absolutely towered over him, not even getting into the fact that he looked like a stiff breeze could knock him over and the way that he trembled when he stood.

It had taken him far too long to realize the reason behind said trembling. As it turned out, what Sol had been afraid of was the exact same as what he was afraid of. Despite explaining Ariels’ deception, he was terrified that Ky or anyone else was going to suddenly lash out and kill him. It had taken a bit of effort to get that out of him, but it was clear just how on-edge the boy was at all times, despite his fervent intentions to find some way to atone for his actions.

Everything after that just sort of followed suit. Bedman wasn’t prone to being emotionally vulnerable, or even very emotional in general. Seeing as how Sin had been the first person he’d opened up to, he became the only person that he went out of his way to be around. Admittedly, Sin could understand. Though Ky had accepted him into their ramshackle ‘family’ of sorts, just about everyone still regarded him with wariness. There wasn’t really anyone that he could open up to aside from Sin. He was just clinging onto what he had.

Sol had given him warnings on more than one occasion about not letting the kid get too close to him, but in the end, he just couldn’t help it. It was just like when they had taken in Ram and Elphelt. Sin liked making friends, even if they did come from unpleasant backgrounds. Nobody else seemed to care enough to give him the time of day, so he just had to make up for that.

If he were to be completely honest, Sin was a little disappointed in how quickly everyone seemed to give up on Bedman. Admittedly, while their initial time spent together was partially rooted in pity, Bedman had ended up being a pretty decent guy to be around. Sure, he was prone to overreacting when things went wrong and being a bit dense socially, but Sin was used to dealing with people who weren’t always socially adept. Hell, he even was one himself. 

On the other hand, though, Sin was drawn in by his enthusiasm for knowledge and genuine curiosity. Bedman was one of the few people who could make learning sound interesting to him, if just for how damn excited he got about it. He wasn’t always the most expressive, but when he got excited about something, it was so earnest that Sin had a hard time seeing him as someone who had once hated the world so much as to want to end it.

Stuck in his thoughts, Sin almost walked right into the bedroom door. He caught Bedman stifling a laugh at that, reaching around to open the door for him.

So as it seemed, mostly by complete accident, the two of them had spent a lot of time together recently. Bedman followed Sin just about everywhere, and in turn, he sat in on his library sessions, pouring over books with titles that Sin couldn’t even pronounce. It was rare that Bedman would stray even more than a few hundred feet away from him, unless he was busy with something else. Honestly, Sin didn’t mind that at all.

On that note… “Are you taking left, or right?”

The question was meaningless, yet he asked anyway. The response was immediate. “Right. I always take right.”

Of all the things that were hard to explain, the fact that they shared a bed was definitely near the top. No part of it was romantic, or even particularly intimate- despite Elphelt’s claims. After a few unpleasant nights and seeking out Sin’s room as a place to crash, they decided to just cut the knot and share a room. Sin was already used to sharing space with Sol, so it really wasn’t too bizarre of a concept. It had just been weird explaining it to Ky, who seemed nervous enough about him having Bedman nearby, let alone in bed with him.

He climbed into bed on the left side, tugging on the unmade blankets until they were up to his throat. After shifting around a bit and finding a comfy place to settle, he glanced over at his bedmate.

“You alright?”

“Mhm.” Bedman had already settled down, and he sounded half-asleep. 

“Okay. G’night, man.”

Drifting off always followed a similar rhythm. Sin reached out for the other’s body, with the intent to wrap his arms around like he had used to with Chimaki. Any intent to do so was shaken off by half-asleep wiggling and the occasional smack until he let go. That was always funny in hindsight, seeing as how Sin could count the times that the two of them didn’t wake up clinging to one another on one hand. As frigid as he could be normally, his sleep-time habits gave off the impression that he really was the cuddly sort underneath his prickly exterior.

With all his time living out in the woods, Sin was conditioned to be a light sleeper. He nodded off quickly, but enough noise and movement could rouse him. He was already accustomed to the usual nighttime castle sounds, and it was something that he could block out, but there were still times where any nearby sounds would wake him up in the middle of the night.

Fortunately, though, that was something he could put to good use.

For the third time in the past week, Sin found himself waking up to squirms and faint, creaking whimpers. The first few moments of awakening were always muddled and confused, not knowing the cause of the early wake-up, only that it had disrupted a perfectly pleasant dream about steak.

“Mmph. C’mon, man, it’s the middle of…”

It was always a bit shocking to look over and find his companion crying, body stiffened in panic and shaking, all the while still fitfully sleeping. The strangeness of it kept him from immediately shaking the boy back to consciousness. In that short span of time, it was enough to make him realize what was going on.

_'He’s having the nightmares again…'_

Making sure to be gentle, Sin reached down to brush a few violet strands out of squeezed-shut eyes. As he made contact with skin, the smaller boy flinched back, making a small panicked noise. His whole body was stiff, every muscle tensed. He laid half-curled in place like a tightly-coiled spring, trembling in fear of something that Sin couldn’t see.

“N-no, stop-” Sin could hear him murmuring. “It hurts, p-please, I’m sorry-”

“Hey.” Sin put a hand on his head. “It’s alright. Nobody’s hurting you. You’re fine.”

Despite his efforts, Bedman only flinched away again, breath hitching and letting out another fearful whine. That wasn’t good. Sometimes a little patting and reassurance would calm him down enough, but it seemed that this one was worse than usual.

Sin tossed his own blankets onto the other side, stacking them on top of his. One thing that he knew Bedman liked, even if he didn’t admit it, was being drowned in blankets. He liked the heavy feeling on him, apparently it was something calming to him. Sin didn’t understand it, but they guy sounded halfway to another panic attack, so it seemed unimportant.

“Stop, please, I-I-I c-can’t…”

“Come on…” Sin half-groaned. He really didn’t want to wake Bedman up, but it almost seemed like the best option. This really was worse than the usual nightmares, more than he was used to.

“Dude, you’re gonna make yourself sick again if you keep doing this.”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, please-”

In a way, it was aggravating. This was a duty that always fell on his shoulders. The anger was more directed at everyone else, though. Nobody else was actually trying to help. Bedman holed himself up in the library or in his room out of fear of people. He was stuck under a massive goddamn guilt complex that he didn’t even like admitting to Sin, but was made all too obvious with how he shied away from everyone and went out of his way to not cause trouble. Yet somehow, despite knowing full well that he wasn’t the brightest or the most observant, Sin was the only one to notice that. Everyone else just thought he was being secretive and left all the socialization with him to Sin.

Damn it. Well, if he was the only one who was going to do anything, he might as well do a good job.

Reclaiming his blankets, Sin slid back under the covers, trying not to be dismayed by his friend’s tear-stained face, body still twitching while the nightmares took their course. He still had one method of calming him down, he just had to hope it would work.

Sin reached out and took a single little trembling hand in his, trying to remember all of the steps that he had made up over time. He carefully began uncurling it, loosening the tightly-clenched muscles and letting the fingers fold out, all the while carefully rubbing warmth into the skin. The rest of the body still shook madly, but Sin focused his efforts on that single, particular spot. It was a ground, to make him aware of his own body and give him something to let his mind fixate on even while barely conscious.

He laced his fingers between, gripping and squeezing lightly. With time, the pressure made the trembling even out and stop, finally beginning to relax. The whole process was slow, yet this was one thing that Sin was more than willing to be patient for.

Strong, muscular arms wrapped around a scrawny, shivering body, drawing Bedman in close to let him take in the body heat. Still in the throes of the nightmare, he resisted slightly, but Sin didn’t let go. For some reason, despite being averse to touch under normal circumstances, the boy greatly enjoyed the tight pressure of being squeezed in a hug. Soon enough, he would relent, huddling against Sin’s body, anxiety being quelled by the warmth and pressure.

“It’s okay, Mattie. Shh...”

At one point, Sin had asked Bedman for his real name. He hadn’t gotten a straight answer. Though he claimed that he couldn’t remember, Sin wasn’t sure if that was true, or if it was something he lied about out of discomfort or some other reason. He grew upset whenever the conversation veered in that direction, so Sin had taken the hint and backed off.

The way that he had learned his name was, a bit ironically, through his sleep-talking. He hadn’t worked up the guts to ask about it yet, but for the time being, he managed to avoid letting it slip out during conversation. He didn’t even know if he actually knew it when he was awake, or if it had been some fortunate slip-out within his buried memories. Sin was a nicknamer by nature, but in his half-asleep states, Bedman always responded well to it. That much made him wonder if he really would like it in real life, if it could be what finally got him to open up and realize that he didn’t have to be alone all the time.

“Just breathe. You’re okay.” He quietly murmured into the other’s ear, stroking his hair reassuringly. “Nobody’s going to hurt you. You’re safe with me.”

“Help- help me, p-please, it hurts-”

“Shh...it isn’t real. It’s just a dream. I’ve got you, Mattie. I’ve got you. Just relax.”

With a bit more gentle whispering, the worst of it had passed. Sin felt the last of the tension fade away, and Bedman huddled back under the covers, against him. He never remembered the bad nights, only waking up thinking that Sin had clung onto him in his sleep again. Though that would inevitably earn the boy’s irritation, Sin could deal with that. Those few moments, with the body curled up against him and the worst of the nightmares gone, were absolutely wonderful. It was everything that he wanted to do and say when they were both awake.

Ah. That was right. He never remembered it. Not a single sign that he ever knew. This was always something that he would have to himself, at least until the nightmares finally went away.

With a bit of hesitation, Sin leaned in, pressing a soft kiss to the other’s forehead as he drifted off. The little bit of extra warmth on his skin resulted in a cute little contented hum, making Sin redden even more.

...Alright, maybe it was a little intimate. Just a smidge.

**Author's Note:**

> This was gonna just be a oneshot, buuuut my dumb self decided that there would be multiple of these. So there will probably be more oneshots under this about their relationship. I love these two dorks so much. I hope that I'm not the only one who enjoys the pairing but I'm not gonna hold my breath.
> 
> And yeah, I personally headcanon that his real name is Matthew, taken from Bedemon's guitarist, Mike Matthews. I just felt like it suited him. Sin's shown himself to be a nicknamer ('Old Man,' El, and Ram) so I feel like he'd keep that as a trend and call him either Matt or Mattie (or Bunkbitch, which is what I call him)


End file.
